Community Corner
Screens for Teens at Highland Park High School
Students receive a free EKG and some also receive a free
echocardiogram. The Foundation will offer heart checks to students at seven high
schools and the College of Lake County this fall, with the potential of
reaching over 14,000 students before Thanksgiving. The program’s mission is to
identify students who are at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) before they are
stricken so they can obtain treatment.
“At each school, we find at least one student that needs further
testing,” said Mary Beth Schewitz, executive director of The Max Schewitz Foundation.
“Online registration is now open for our fall test schools. We urge parents to
visit www.ekgyourteen.org to register
their children for this painless, quick, and non-invasive test. Last year
alone, two
young adults had open-heart surgery to correct defects often found on autopsy. Thanks to Screens for Teens, their defect was
detected before it was too late.”
In 2005, Max died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 20 from an
undiagnosed cardiac condition. Like so many others victims of SCD, Max had no previous
medical conditions or warning signs. If he had been
diagnosed, life-saving treatments could have been implemented.
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Screens for Teens EKGs and echocardiograms are interpreted on site
by a team of cardiologists under the direction of Dr. Eli Lavie, Medical Director of the Max Schewitz Foundation. The Foundation's
hope is that EKG tests will become a part of student’s routine physical exams.
2013 Screens for Teens testing dates:
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- College of Lake County: 9/11/13
- St. Viator High School: 9/18/13
- Vernon Hills High School: 9/25/13
- Stevenson High School: 10/8/13-10/10/13
- Antioch High School: 10/16/13
- Glenbrook South High School: 10/23/13
- Highland Park High School: 10/29/13
- Lake Zurich Hugh School: 11/6/13
Based in Lake Bluff, Ill., The Max Schewitz Foundation’s
dual missions reflect Max’s life and death. His parents and family friends
started the Foundation in 2005 after 20-year-old Max died suddenly from a
cardiac arrhythmia. The Foundation works to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD)
in young people and to promote conservation of fragile reptile species and
their ecosystems. Today, over 35,000 high school students have received free EKG testing
and 307 echocardiograms from the Foundation and 643 students had an abnormality
that required further evaluation. To learn more, call Mary Beth
Schewitz at (847) 234-2206 or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
